Has Google Canned The Fresh Content Boost Experiment?
Google has been a joy to work with recently but over the last few days I’ve spotted a disappointing trend, at least with this seo blog and one other I publish on.
After months of posting original content virtually directly into Google via the Hobo WordPress blog (on average appearing in Google SERPS 2-9 minutes after I published), it seems it just hasn’t been the case especially the last couple of days.
I haven’t seen it published anywhere like SERoundtable, Sphinn or Search Engine Land and there’s no mention of it on any of the blogs I read on a sort-of daily basis like Andy, Sebastian, Tad or Tim (it would be interesting to hear some feedback).
Google was recently widely applauded (I think) when it seemed they started to propel fresh content from at least ‘trusted’ blogs into the top 20 or even top 10 in Google almost instantly.
But as far as I can see, it’s not been happening the last few days. Has Google canned a fresh content boost ‘experiment’? It certainly doesn’t seem to be allowing at least the Hobo site to inject the content into serps it was last week, as my recent interview with Lyndon (over an hour ago) is testament to.
I checked Google Blogsearch and yes it was there, it’s just not in the serps.
Perhaps its this blog. Perhaps the rules have been changed for certain blogs – perhaps some criteria has been changed. Perhaps the criterea for authority has been tweaked too high for this site to meet? Perhaps it’s a glitch?
Something’s changed….. perhaps this post will appear in minutes rather than 20 hours…. if it does, ther’e nothing to worry about
Written by Shaun Anderson Hobo
I’ve also noticed about it, and also the results chage each time I make the same search..so, probably something is chanching..
I had a theory that it is using the name “Google” in your headline or Title.
I ran several experiments about Google Clocking along with another poster on my blog and it failed to appear in the serps for some time.
I noticed that this post is failing to show but comes up under your Lyndon interview. Perhaps you have brought the big G eye to focus on this blog.
Who Knows!
Also when the heck is that damn no-follow coming off my link sig Shaun – that’s more than 3 comments since you updated and still shunned.
Paul he Shaunns us all
sorry bad bad joke
Regarding fresh content – http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=StumbleUpon+Graveyard
Less then 3 hours old it was on front page within 20 minutes.
My LinkBomb post yesterday also ranked high for the term linkbomb for the first few hours and then plummeted page 4 when I last looked.
So at first glance of my recent content I’m inclined to say no fresh content still rocks, though the linkbomb post is a bit alarming how quickly it fell away.
Thanks for the comments guys
@ Paul You should be getting linky love when the page is 24 hours old I think – check one of the old posts, I’m sure you’re getting linky love.
Tim, I was used to appearing at the top of the serps in mintes, but even my Lyndon interview didn’t appear for hours.
How unique does a page need to be to get int the SERPS immediately.
Back @ Paul – “Perhaps you have brought the big G eye to focus on this blog.” – I don’t think so – nothing to hide on this blog.
Perhaps its not so much a case of how unique but did it make all the right sounds, for example did your post take time to appear in Google Blog search & Technorati perhaps your ping went for a walk?
Alternatively it could be the fact that you were interviewing a linkbaiter and so Google was waiting for the hundreds of links before it paid attention?
I’m not saying you have anything to hide Shaun but you have been sorta hot with the blog posts since the turn of the new year. Maybe their just trying to dowse you down and give us all a chance to catch-up.
You do that’s plain sad I thought I didn’t have a life
Well I have 3 posts on 3 separate sites due today so I will time each one and we will see how big the gold fish bowl is
Yeah it’s quite ironic Paul, the day I was giving up blogging for a while to get on with all the work I’ve got so I published the 5 drafts I had and I think 4 of them went hot and got ‘noticed’ – quadrupeled my subscribers in one month and got half of last years traffic in one month….I’ll be posting on that irony
Regular comments should get an editorially given link as I moderate everything but it’s Linky Love I think that keeps new comments Nofollowed as should be the case. I’m always zapping crap comments but unlike DaveN and my friend Lyndoman I want to keep dofollow on this blog.
@ Tim of course I checked Technorati and I checked Blogsearch – do you think I am an amateur
(don’t answer that) and even looked at my ping list. I am addicted to this stuff. Even my posts on HTML 5 recently were “subdued” for hours.
Somethings changed on this blog at least regarding instant acceptance into the Google serps, although I admit it’s an observation in a fishbowl.
Tim I don’t have a life at the moment, but it’s nearly ‘Festival Season” so i am sure I will soon
SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 8, 2008…
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web…….
We have been trying to make sure all of our clients push “fresh content” atleast twice a week and for some of them I have noticed the slow down that you are talking about Shaun but some others are still enjoying the quick indexing and sudden boost. I didn’t think anything about it at first but now that you have brought it to my attention maybe something that I will keep a closer watch over in the coming weeks. Thanks for helping keeping me on my toes Shaun!
Sorry Shaun its just you
my latest post on timnash.co.uk was indexed, crawled and ranking for its principle term in under 3 minutes got the screen shot and everything.
Perhaps the key is to not be to fresh relax a bit or be more sarcastic maybe.
Thanks Tim so I see. I’m looking into it but as you can see, a post I made 16 hours ago, that appeared in Google Blogsearch and Technorati within minutes still isn’t in the main index.
I’ve done one major thing to this site recently, but I’d be surprised if this is the reason for this phenomenon.
Like I said, looking into it
Hi Shaun.
Not sure if it’s a fresh content thing but I’ve certainly noticed changes recently in my blog. While my main site is rising in the rankings that I check, my blog has been dropping out of sight. I was number one for “Scottish SEO consultant” for ages until a spammer came in (I blogged about that – maybe Google took umbrage!) – then the last 3 weeks I’ve gone 80, 295, 348. Similar things have happened with other SEO related phrases. I was nailed on as number 1 for “search engine musings” (that’s its name) since I started the blog, today I dropped to 11 (once Google came back on again).
Definitely something up. Can’t see it being a penalty or the main site would be affected. Will be interested to hear any theories that anyone comes up with.
Keep up the good work.
fresh still seems to very fast in most cases for us also, but as Tim said, so is the drop off.
suppose it has be to make room if new content is always coming through so fast. ..well apart from yours
i would just keep working and let them sort their bugs out
Well, this post is top of Google for the posts title. I had heard Matt Cutts talk about things appearing in minutes, but hadn’t actually took the time to notice it on my site.
It certainly is nice to be able to blog about something, and appear top of Google for that posts search phrase. I note how you have nicely integrated the posts title into your text, and in bold. Its those simple SEO things that make the difference, and something that people so often miss out.
Like the link requests that have link text that is not even on the page being linked to…
I will have to note the time it takes for my next blog posts to be found. Thanks for the reminder.
I’ve noticed that my Google Alerts for my name are coming in a lot later than they used to after I publish a post, just in this last week or so. Hmmmm.